LAST Thursday, Matthew Barney was about to start sparring again after a short break from boxing.

In August, he had suffered a points defeat to Ghanaian Charles Adamu for the Commonwealth title and was preparing to defend his British title against Liverpool's Tony Dodson at the end of November.

The phone rang and suddenly Barney found himself with 48 hours to think about fighting Portsmouth's Tony Oakey for the WBU light-heavyweight championship.

Fast forward to yesterday and he was enjoying his first full day as Southampton's only ever world boxing champion.

In a sport in which the winner takes all, Barney did just that in less than an hour on Saturday night.

What's more, he achieved it in the toughest environment possible.

Fighting the previously-unbeaten Oakey in front of his home fans at the Mountbatten Centre in Portsmouth barely does justice to the phrase 'entering the lion's den'.

Yet, somehow, Barney's lack of preparation allied to a highly-charged atmosphere seemed to generate a feeling that such an unlikely opportunity could produce a surprise outcome.

The challenger's body language as he was booed and jeered on the way to the ring only added to that hunch.

He was smiling, nodding his head, enjoying the occasion and genuinely seemed to believe there was a sense of destiny about the fight.

The Durley man admits he has often found himself day-dreaming about how he would counter the intensity of Oakey in the ring and his Portsmouth opponent was certainly the one caught napping early in the fight.

During the opening four rounds, the ringside cameramen looked in most danger from the champion's punches as he piled forward but kept missing.

Barney's game-plan of jabbing and using his reach advantage on the outside while tying his opponent up in close largely worked, although he was eventually docked a point for persistent holding as Oakey came into the fight more in the middle rounds.

Yet while Barney ran out of steam somewhat in his last fight against Adamu, he seems to have benefited from some rest and found fresh legs in the closing rounds to clinch a disputed points decision.

Certainly, Oakey was the aggressor but his punches connected with fresh air as much as flesh while Barney boxed accurately behind a persistent if not powerful jab - as well as some effective right upper-cuts.

As usual, ringside pundits were quick to criticise his style, which did contribute to a scrappy fight.

Boxing is certainly about strength, effort, fighting heart and aggression (qualities Oakey has in abundance), but it is also known as the sweet science and there are few who jab and move better than Barney.

Those aiming the pot-shots do not have his best interests at heart but simply find it more enjoyable to watch more brutal and gruelling fights.

Ultimately, though, Barney is more interested in winning than entertaining.

In any case, at the age of 29, it's too late for a makeover and why should he overhaul a style that has brought British and world title success at different weights?

No one who steps inside a boxing ring should have their fighting spirit called into question - and less so those who are victorious in their opponent's backyard.

On Saturday, Barney won for the simple reason that he was able to dictate the pattern of the fight better than Oakey.

It was, therefore, a shame that the unsavoury crowd scenes at the end of the night should sour the sweet taste of what was a deserved victory.